Airship and method of making the same buoyant



1,624.9 7 P" 7 F. e. EHRCHARD 1 AIRSHIP AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME BUOYANT Filed May 5, 1926 fauna W01 ami imam a L. i)

Patented Apr. 19, 1927.

FORD G, BIl LCHABJD, OF LEW'ISBURG, EENNSYLVAHIA AIItSHlP AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME BUOYANT.

Application filed May 5, 1926. Serial No. 106,910.

This invention relates to airships, one of its objects being to provide means for producing a buoyant body by expelling air therefrom thus to create a partial vacuum which will result in the. body rising in the atmosphere in the same manner as the usual aerostat.

A further object is to utilize centrifugal force as a means for oliisetting the crushing action of the atmosphere, so that the buoyant body having the partial vacuum will not collapse but will remain distended and buoyant.

A further object is to provide means whereby at the speed of rotation of the buoyant bony is reduced thereby reducing the centrifugal action, air may be admitted to said body, thus to further reduce the vacuum and insure against the collapsing of the buoyant body under atmospheric pressure.

it still further object is to provide means whereby, as the speed of rotation of the buoyant body increases, the withdrawal of air from said body will automatically increase with the result that the greater the speed of rotation of the body, the greater will be its buoyancy.

With the foregoing and other. objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts, in the details of ,-onstruction hereinafter described and claimed, and in the new and novel method disclosed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein Tdisclosed, may be made within the scope of what is claimed, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred forms of the invention have been shown.

In said drawings Figure 1 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in section of an airship embodying the present improvements.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of a modified type of airship.

Figure 3 is a section on lines 3-3 of Figure 2.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference 1 designates an elongated body which can be formed of light material and which is fixedly connected in any suitable manner to a shaft 2 mounted to rotate. The shaft 2 is j ournaled in standards 3 connected to a car-4 which can be of any preferred de sign. To the front end of the shaft 2 is connected a propeller 5 adapted to rotate with the shaft and with the body 1. Communicating with the interior of the body at its other end is an air exhaust pipe 6 which extends to a suction pump 7. An engine 8 is mounted in the car 4t and is adapted to drive a shaft 9 from which motion may be transmitted through sprockets and chains as indicated at 10 to the end portions of the body 1. This shaft 9 may also drive the pump 7 through suitable mechanism indicated generally at 11.

A valve 12 may be arranged in the suction pipe 6, said valve being under the control of the operator so as to close communi- -ation between the interior of the body 1 and the pump 7 and at the same time open communication between said body and the external atmosphere. When the valve is in its normal position, however, communication is maintained between the body and the pump.

As is well known it has been the practice heretofore in the science of aerostatics to utilize a gas much lighter than air for the purpose of producing a buoyant body. The use ofhydrogen, the lightest of gases, has always been desirable because of the high efficiency resulting therefrom but, aside from the cost of producingthe gas and the danger of explosion the use of a light gas is objectionable because it is necessary to waste it whenever a descent is to be made and subsequently to discharge a portion of the load supported the airship before another ascent can be made without recharging the aerostat.

By utilizing the apparatus herein described a partial vacuum can be produced within the rotating body 1 and it will be apparent that as the air is withdrawn from the body, said body is rendered increasingly buoyant, it being possible to so rarefy the air as to produce greater buoyancy than would be possible even by the use of hydrogen. Obviously the withdrawal of the air, however, will subject the body to the crushing action of the atmosphere and, un-

less some means is provided for offsetting.

this action the body will collapse. It would of course be possible to build a device with suficient strength to withstand the atmospheric pressure but such a device would be so heavy that it would be impossible for it to rise within the atmosphere when the air is exhausted. F or the purpose of overcoming the crushing action of the atmosphere and obviating the necessity of adding strength to the body to resist the crushing force. it is designed, in the present case, to utilize centrifugal force. As the speed. of rotation of a body increases the body is rendered better able to Withstand any crushing force exerted thereagainst. Thus in the present instance means have been provided for exhausting air from the body 1 and, during such action, for rotating the body, the speed of rotation of, the body being increased in proportion to the amount of air withdrawn so that, the centrifugal action set up by the rotation of the body will at all times be sufiicient to offset the crushing action of the atmosphere. Thus it is possible to produce a buoyant body made of a comparatively light material without the use of a light gas and which body can be controlled in the same manner as the ordinary dirigible balloon. The rotation of the body for the purpose of producing the desired centrifugal action can also be utilized as a means for propelling the airship, it merely being neces sary to connect the propeller 5 to the body so that the two will rotate together.

When it is desired to descend, the buoyancy of the body can be reduced by opening the valve 12 thereby to admit air to the con tainer or body 1. At the same time the speed of rotation of the body can be reduced gradually.

Instead of utilizing an air exhausting apparatus, air outlet nozzles 13 can be arranged upon the periphery of the rotating body 1 whereby, as said body is rotated, the air contained therein will be thrown outwardly with considerable force so that a partial Vacuum will thus be produced sufficient to cause the airship to rise. Obviously in this modified structure shown in Figure 2 the buoyancy of the body will increase in body, and this speed of rotation will be sufficient to cause a centrifugal action capable of withstanding the crushing force of the atmosphere. Obviously by slowing down the rotation of the body, the air will be permitted to pass back into the body, thereby reducing its buoyancy.

\Vhile the apparatus has been described as an airship structure, it is to be understood that the same principles may be embodied in any structure where it is desired to produce a vacuum. I

What is claimed is:

l. The method of producing a body buoyant in the atmosphere, which consists in creating a partial vacuum in a rotating body, the rotation producing a centrifugal action to prevent crushing of the body by atmospheric pressure.

2. The method of producing a buoyant body which consists in simultaneously withdrawing air from the body, and rotating the body to produce a centrifugal action to prevent crushing of the body by atmospheric pressure.

The method of producing a body buoyant in the atmosphere, which consists in creating a partial vacuum in a rotating body, the speed of rotation being in proportion to the density of the air in the body, thereby to produce a centrifugal action sufficient to counteract the crushing force exerted by the surrounding atmosphere.

The combination with a hollow body and a car supported thereby, of means for simultaneously rotating the body and creating a partial vacuum therein.

The combination with a hollow body and a car supported thereby, of means for simultaneously rotating the body and creating a partial vacuum therein, and a propeller revoluble with the body.

in testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aflixed my signature.

FORD G. BIRGHARD. 

